TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT Dec. 26, 2004

More than 230,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a 100-foot-high tsunami triggered by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean. ALSO ON THIS DATE

1799

Former President George Washington was eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

1917

During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation authorizing the government to take over operation of the nation’s railroads.

1944

During the World War II Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium, was relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division. Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie” was first performed at the Civic Theatre in Chicago.

1947

Heavy snow blanketed the Northeast, burying New York City under 26.4 inches of snow in 16 hours; the severe weather was blamed for some 80 deaths.

1975

The Soviet Union inaugurated the world’s first supersonic transport service with a flight of its Tupolev-144 airliner from Moscow to Alma-Ata.

1980

Iranian television footage was broadcast in the United States, showing a dozen of the American hostages sending messages to their families.

1996

6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado.

2003

An earthquake struck the historic Iranian city of Bam, killing at least 26,000 people.

2006

Former President Gerald R. Ford died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 93.